Google is facing a lawsuit that could threaten the entire “bread and butter” of the company, which revolves around allegations of errors in its indexing and ranking methods for the world’s largest online search engine.
Today (June 29), Google will have to appear in court to persuade a judge in Northern California to dismiss the lawsuit filed by KinderStart.com LLC back in March.
According to the lawsuit, KinderStart.com LLC claims to be a victim of a “fatal” error caused by Google’s website ranking tool. The company states that it has suffered considerable damage due to a drastic drop in its ranking index caused by Google.
This lawsuit could have a profound impact on Google’s global business operations. For a long time, many industrial conglomerates and corporations around the world have been scrambling to secure a place in the top rankings of popular search services, especially Google. A low ranking or absence from Google’s index can be disastrous for a company, which is precisely why KinderStart.com has filed this lawsuit.
“This is a very important lawsuit on many levels. Everyone uses search engines, so there’s an ongoing question of whether you receive accurate or truthful results,” stated Gregory Yu, attorney representing KinderStart.com.
KinderStart.com accuses Google of violating free speech laws; unlawfully using its monopoly power to harm competitors; engaging in unfair competitive practices; making defamatory statements; and violating federal communication laws in the United States.
In May 2006, Google made statements convincing the Northern California court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that if KinderStart were to win, neither Google nor any search engine would dare to operate, as they would always face lawsuits if any company were dissatisfied with their ranking position.
KinderStart.com is a California-based company that launched its website in May 2000, and one year later, it joined Google’s AdSense advertising network. Starting in March-April 2005, the ranking of KinderStart.com plummeted dramatically, and the company was unaware of what was happening.
KinderStart.com claims it did not receive any notifications, via email or phone, regarding the drop in its ranking status. According to a statement from Google on its website, the company reserves the right to remove any site from its index if it violates Google’s terms. Meanwhile, KinderStart.com asserts that it has done nothing wrong.
In February 2006, Google decided to remove the website of car manufacturer BMW from its index after obtaining evidence that the company had used deceptive techniques to boost its ranking. However, a few days later, Google reinstated the website and stated that BMW had made the required changes, even though BMW never claimed to have done anything wrong.
